A few days ago, I came across another very interesting leaflet published by the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist). It was entitled Decent homes for all!
In the past, I had already written about the right to live in a decent home. Having such a home is fundamental in order to allow the members of a particular society to live much better lives. The home is a place where one can focus on relaxing, learning new things, making plans for the future.
In the past, I had lived in situations whereby the threat of ending up homeless was not a remote possibility. At the time, I was working as an English teacher in Madrid (Spain) and my income varied so much from month to month that I could never really be sure whether I was going to have enough money to cover the rent (let alone the other essential items to survive!).
Here in Malta, my wife and I have lived in various apartments. We had spent a few months living in an old maisonette that was in a terrible condition. Sadly, given the amount of money I was earning and the fact that my wife was unable to work at that time, it was almost impossible to rent a more decent place.
When we eventually moved to more decent places, the amount of rent money that had to be spent every month increased. Before moving to our current residence in Ta' Xbiex, we were paying Lm250/EUR 582.34 per month!
Throughout all the time we spent paying rent, I was always anxious about how we would be able to survive if one of us ended up unemployed for one reason or another. My anxiety level was often exacerbated by the fact that the government assistance for the unemployed is not particularly easy to obtain and it is usually so little that it would probably be insufficient to cover a full month's rent and various other fixed expenses.
I am quite sure that there are many people out there who have endured similar experiences. People who have also been tormened by the fear of homelessness. People who feel that they have been ignored by the capitalist governments in their countries. And it is precisely to counter the indifference displayed by such governments that a strong Communist party is required in every corner of the world.
A Communist party in power would ensure that the spectre of homelessness would be exorcised once and for all.
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The blog post "Living in a Decent Home" is featured on Maltamedia: The Maltese Blogosphere
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It is tough to feel that you can end up without a roof over your head. Some people say that the market will manage to regularise everything. Those people should try to say that to all those who have ended up homeless in the States due to the credit crunch. Or those people who are facing hardship in the UK or Spain due to the property market crisis.
Very well said, Delirante! The supporters of the market economy often fail to realise that such an economy is only interested in one thing - maximisation of profit. If the market economy was about providing the best quality of life for everyone, we would not have increasing gaps between the world's richest and poorest people, we would not have homeless people, and we would not have people who sometimes cannot improve themselves for lack of sufficient financial resources!
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